Divine Kingship

Chapter 639 Although you may not know this, the New Holy City has always been loyal to His Majesty Rand!
Over the years, the new Holy City has gradually recovered from its previous setbacks in the fight against Rand.

But just as the shadows of the past were gradually forgotten.

It will happen in the next few days.

Something even more frightening happened.

Their former saintess, the golden-haired blazing sun, has reappeared.

Damn it, that's not just anyone.

He is the king.

How come the incident in the old Holy City back then didn't kill this king?
So what should we do now? Saint Karin has led the people of the old holy city to the new holy city.

Back when the split had just occurred, during the height of the Old Holy City of the Torch Church, it was only then that they could barely be said to dare to oppose the Holy Maiden.

Although things are gradually recovering, they are far from what they used to be.

After all, everyone is thinking about making money, and everyone knows what level they are at now in terms of fighting spirit and combat skills.

On the other hand, looking at the situation of the Holy Maiden, the powerful Newborn faction of the Torch Church will definitely support her with all its might, and Rand, whose relationship with the Newborn faction is unclear, will also take action. With these three forces working together, the New Holy City will definitely not be able to defeat her.

Many people in the new holy city are already panicking.

Of course, many people were also trying not to laugh.

Today, the Grand Knight Commander has summoned the Knight Commanders to the Grand Cathedral for a meeting.

The knight commanders arrived at the Grand Cathedral, and now they were eagerly hoping that their powerful Grand Knight Commander could come up with a solution.

The elderly Grand Knight sat in the main seat. When he was first put in this position, he was just a powerless puppet.

Now, the knight commanders have truly recognized the status of this elderly knight commander.

"Now everyone is probably very clear about the situation. The Holy Maiden is going to make a move against us, and it will be difficult for us to win against her. What are your thoughts? Should we fight or surrender?" the Grand Knight Commander said calmly.

The knights, however, were puzzled as to why there were significantly more guards in the council hall and at the entrance than usual.

However, considering that we are currently in a serious and special period, it's understandable.

"Although I hate to admit it, we are indeed unable to defeat the Crimson King. I think we should take a roundabout approach and avoid the Saintess's sharp edge."

"Yes, I also support tactical maneuvers."

"We shouldn't fight the Crimson King head-on."

Clearly, the knights neither approved of fighting Karin nor of surrendering.

They knew very well that they couldn't beat Karin, but if they surrendered, their accumulated wealth would be confiscated. Karin, that mentally unstable woman, would never let go of the money they had worked so hard to save.

If they run out of money, what is their purpose in splitting the Torch Church and constantly accumulating wealth in the New Holy City?
Wouldn't that mean all that work was for nothing?
This is something they absolutely cannot tolerate.

However, the knight commanders soon became puzzled, as several knight commanders agreed to surrender, including two newly appointed ones and one former one.

The position of Knight Commander has changed a few times over the years, but not by much, with only two changes.

Those knight commanders who had requested a tactical maneuver looked at the knight commanders who had agreed to surrender with some shock: "Are you crazy? If you surrender, our money will be confiscated immediately. Even if we surrender and hand over all the money, Karin may not spare the lives of us leaders."

“Perhaps the Holy Maiden will pardon us and not confiscate our money, and might even promote us?” one of the knight commanders who agreed to surrender smiled.

"What's wrong with you? Don't you know what kind of personality the Saintess has? And don't you know what kind of personality those old fogies of the Newborn Faction have? You're just dreaming." The knight commander, who had started to mock him directly, stopped talking after saying all that.

After all, the majority of knights commanders clearly disagree with surrendering, so there's no need to persuade these naive people.

"Is that all your opinions?" The Grand Knight looked around.

Then, quite suddenly, two more knight commanders decided to surrender.

Now the twelve knight commanders have become a 7 to 5 situation.

Seven men wanted a tactical retreat, while five wanted to surrender.

No one wanted to fight to the death.

The old knight commander, who had anticipated the situation, smiled. He stepped down from his seat, stood up, and his iron boots trotted onto the white marble floor.

It makes a "click-clack" sound.

“Actually, we don’t need to worry about Ms. Karin’s arrival at all,” the Grand Knight Commander said with a smile.

The knight commanders all looked at the Grand Knight Commander, who now held considerable prestige in the new Holy City. Perhaps this elderly paladin truly had a way to deal with the current situation.

Everyone is all ears.

The old knight's wrinkled face showed a hint of excitement.

The magnificent chandeliers in the sanctuary's conference room illuminated the hall, which seemed to be made of white jade.

In front of the mahogany conference table and the pine-backed chairs.

The old knight declared: "In fact, we have always been His Majesty Rand's loyal subjects, His Highness the Saintess's faithful supporters, and steadfast practitioners of the original ideals."

The scene fell silent for a moment.

But no dramatic change in the atmosphere occurred, which greatly disappointed the old knight commander.

As expected, the pragmatic knight commanders were shocked, questioning the old knight commander about how he had secretly colluded with Rand while cursing him as a traitor.

But it didn't.

The scene was very quiet, and the knight commanders waited for the old knight commander to continue.

The knight commanders were not surprised at all, whether they were those who had already truly submitted to Rand or those who were still stubbornly clinging to their beliefs.

Those who had already submitted naturally knew everything and were not surprised.

Those knight commanders who firmly adhered to utilitarian principles assumed that the old knight commander's words must indicate a solution that required neither fleeing nor paying money.

For example, could they negotiate a reconciliation?

The old knight commander quickly understood the situation, which left him somewhat amused and exasperated.

Some of the knight commanders, who were still somewhat pragmatic, had no idea that the old knight commander was actually an undercover agent. During Operation Sunshine, the old knight commander acted as an inside man, assisting in burning down the city and covering the retreat. When he was finally captured, the old knight commander thought his life was about to end.

Then, he was actually used as a model, able to realize the need to put out the fire in time even in such a chaotic situation.

Then, when the original Grand Knight Commander died, he was elected as a puppet Grand Knight Commander because of his seniority and lack of power.

Then came the arduous journey of seeking the Holy Land's assistance, living a life of constant anxiety as a Grand Knight Commander.

Now, thanks to his decent work ability and the assistance from all sides of the Sanctuary, the old paladin has become a highly prestigious Grand Knight Commander.

This has led everyone to believe that he is always thinking about the fate of the new Holy City and how to resolve the current crisis.

In short, over the years, this elderly Grand Knight Commander has been so successful at his work as a mole that no one suspects he is the one who betrayed the New Holy City.

This made the Grand Knight sigh. Should he be happy about the success of his work, or should he feel helpless about how he had successfully become the true leader of the new Holy City over the years?

"Perhaps you all didn't understand what I meant. What I meant was that I'm different from you. In fact, from the very beginning, I was a member of the Newborn Faction." The old knight commander had no choice but to explain himself.

The lack of a straight man meant his prepared remarks were rendered useless.

“Grand Knight Commander, things are urgent at this time, please don’t make such jokes.” A pragmatic knight commander spoke up.

"I'm sorry, this is not a joke. Don't you all find it strange? On the night of Operation Sunshine, everyone was heading to the vault to try and make money, so why was I the only one 'putting out fires'?"

Those pragmatic knight commanders finally felt a pang of unease.

Indeed, why was it that the old knight commander alone did not go to the vault on that night when the gold melted into liquid and flowed everywhere?
The reason everyone formed the utilitarian faction and established the new holy city is simply for money, isn't it?
"Later, you all elected me as the Grand Knight Commander. At that time, I had no subordinates and no money. Aren't you curious about why the people who gradually increased under my command were serving me?"

The pragmatic knight commanders looked quite displeased.

"Later, I developed new businesses, improved the reputation of the new Holy City, and trained new paladins. Didn't you all feel something was wrong with all this money and these things? Or do you really believe that someone who doesn't love money can truly be the leader of the new Holy City?"

"I have endured a lot for today. I thought I would have to endure much longer before Lord Rand conquers this holy city, but now it seems I don't have to wait any longer! Hahahaha."

The elderly Grand Knight Commander smiled and laughed heartily.

They showed no concern that such demeanor was utterly disrespectful for a powerful Grand Knight Commander.

The knights who had been waiting at the conference table could no longer contain themselves. They finally believed that the puppet Grand Knight they had chosen was indeed a nascent paladin.

They've been completely manipulated by an old dog all along.

Only by catching this old dog can we possibly have some room for maneuver.

Unfortunately, the Grand Knight Commander was already prepared.

The knight commander who initially agreed to surrender and the knight commander who later changed his mind and said he was willing to surrender were obviously people that the Grand Knight Commander had arranged in advance.

Over the years, as an undercover agent, the Grand Knight Commander has certainly been working hard to enhance the strength of his own forces.

It has now yielded some results.

Several knights who attempted to kidnap the Grand Knight Commander were quickly stopped, and the guards who had been arranged in the vicinity naturally came to help.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there is no need to resist any longer. I have already prepared perfumes for you. Do you feel your strength waning?"

The Grand Knight Commander made many preparations for this treacherous banquet, including using methods such as poisoning.

It is a perfume made by a perfumer from the Sanctuary, which can make people who have not prepared an antidote in advance lose their strength.

"You damned old bastard!" the knights cursed.

"Hahaha." The old Grand Knight just laughed.

He had thought that a paladin of his age was already at the point of retirement and could no longer achieve anything.

In the first half of his life, he eradicated cult strongholds, fought against monsters in the darkness, helped kind people, and followed the saintess to capture Rand, the cult leader of the Blood of Nourishment.

But he wasn't a key figure in these events; he was merely involved. He was just an old paladin with no particularly remarkable experiences.

But now, things are different. He never imagined that in such a late stage of his life, he would still be able to do something so exciting.

Is this a cruel twist of fate, or a stroke of good fortune?
Regardless, he was grateful for it.

“Foolish youngsters, when Her Highness the Holy Maiden arrives, she will judge your sins. But until then, you may freely ‘sing praises’ of my achievements where I cannot hear you.”

After speaking, the elderly Grand Knight Commander prepared to wave his hand and lead these pragmatic paladins away.

At this moment, a pragmatist paladin still tried to fight back: "Didn't you consider that if you arrested us all at once, wouldn't the new Holy City be thrown into chaos, or even unrest, which would bring you down?"

The elderly Grand Knight Commander still smiled with his wrinkled face: "Haven't you noticed that there are fewer greedy and treacherous people in the Holy City?"

The pragmatic knight commanders looked extremely grim.

They certainly felt that way, but they were blinded by greed.

Now, they are reaping the bitter fruit.

Once these pragmatic knight commanders were taken away, the Grand Cathedral of the New Holy City would only have its own people left.

The elderly Grand Knight Commander sat back on the main seat, his expression becoming slightly more serious: "In short, the coup has succeeded, but there's no need for everyone to be too happy yet."

These knights, guards, and soldiers who had already betrayed the Holy Land and joined its ranks were naturally delighted. Because of their youth, they were even less able to maintain their composure than their elder knights.

“How can this be called a coup? This is called purging a rebellion,” a young knight under his command laughed.

The Grand Knight Commander laughed loudly: "Hahaha, that's right, we are purging the rebels, but there are still many rebels in the city. Everyone must not relax. If any trouble occurs when Her Majesty the Holy Maiden arrives, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Everyone nodded solemnly.

"In addition, we must also prepare in advance for the fight against the plague. According to His Majesty Rand's arrangement, our new Holy City will become the nail in the coffin for the next event. Everyone must pay attention to the repair of the city and the study of the Holy Scripture of Health."

After speaking, the Grand Knight waited a while longer, and seeing that there were no other topics, he continued the Sanctuary's consistently concise office style: "Then, if there's nothing more to discuss, let's adjourn the meeting."

Subsequently, the members of the Holy Domain forces, who had now completely taken over the place, left their seats and went outside the Great Cathedral.

The elderly knight commander glanced at the traces of fighting and bloodstains in the hall, shook his head, and walked out of the Great Cathedral.

Everything's destiny is about to change.

(End of this chapter)